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First helium-filled 6TB hard drive launched, just not for you
At first glance, an enterprise-class hard drive with unparalleled areal density sounds like a pretty dull affair, right? While the new Ultrastar He6 drive from Western Digital's HGST subsidiary does fit that nap-inducing description, it's also got a couple of exclusive honors to boast about. You see, not only is this the first sealed, helium-filled HDD, but also the largest in a standard 3.5-inch footprint, packing 6TB over seven stacks. We learned during the drive's development that helium's lower density compared with air allows for this storage bump, as well as making it lighter and more energy efficient. It's destined for data centers and the like, with outfits like HP, Netflix, Huawei and CERN already registering their interest. You'd think these HDDs are pretty pricey currently, but let's hope HGST can dial its costs down and do the noble thing of bringing it to consumer rigs in the future.
HGST's 1.5TB laptop drive is the densest hard disk available
If you're looking for pure storage for the dollar, SSDs have nothing on good old hard disks. And WD subsidiary HGST has packed more gigabytes into a smaller space than ever before with the new Travelstar 5K1500. It's a 2.5-inch, 9.5mm thin model packing 1.5TB, giving your notebook a huge shot of extra storage space while taking up very little physical space. The two platter drive boasts 694Gb per square inch and draws a mere 1.8W, though it must spin at a miserly 5,400 RPM. Still, it can absorb 400Gs of shock for 2ms and keep on ticking -- so it should have no trouble surviving reentry. HGST's targeting notebooks, external drives, gaming consoles and AIO PC markets with the model, and will also offer an enhanced availability (EA) version for power sensitive servers and other 24/7 systems. There's no price yet, but it'll be available in June -- so you might be able to take that film editing project on the road after all.
HGST unites nanoimprints, self-assembling molecules to double hard drive space
Hard drive makers are in a race to boost capacities and keep spinning disks at least a beat ahead of flash drives on the value curve. We've seen some exotic developments as a result, but HGST wants to go the extra mile by relying on two breakthroughs at once. Its future storage primarily takes advantage of self-assembling polymer molecules that align themselves into rows. By first splitting the molecules into very small lines and then using an equally rare nanoimprinting technology to put them into circular tracks, HGST can create platters with a 10 nanometer-wide bit pattern that's twice as dense as current hard drives. The technique should hold up in the real world despite ditching typical photolithography, the company says: the nanoimprinting remains useful in the error-prone world of storage, and it should scale as the patterns get smaller. If only the drive designer had a roadmap -- while the company has a tendency to bring its research to market, the lack of a timetable hints that we won't see these nanoimprinted drives very soon.
HGST outs Touro Mobile Pro external hard drive and Travelstar 2.5-inch HDD
Here at CES, HGST (Hitachi Storage) has announced two storage options that look to immediately get cozy in your workflow. First, the "industry's first" 1TB 7,200 RPM 2.5-inch Travelstar HDD measures 9.5mm and looks to boost performance over 5,400 RPM models for $100. If an external storage solution is more your style, the Touro Mobile Pro houses one of the aforementioned 1TB hard drives with USB 3.0 connectivity, two-level protection and 3GB of could storage. The Touro will set you back $109 and like the Travelstar, is available now. Need to check the fine print before committing? Consult the full announcement that follows after the break. Follow all the latest CES 2013 news at our event hub.
G-Technology updates G-Drive mini and G-Raid mini with 1TB HGST Travelstar hard drives
G-Technology's G-Drive mini and G-Raid mini have been around for a bit, but the storage brand is taking the opportunity at CES to update the duo with Hitachi's (HGST) Travelstar hard drives. Both external storage repositories are set to get the 1TB 7,200 RPM 2.5-inch components that notch the measuring tape 9.5mm. The G-Drive mini is now available for $200 sporting one of the drives, USB 3.0 and Firewire 800 connections. Dual-wielding the Travelstar, the G-Raid mini touts 2TB capacity while remaining Firewire bus powered during USB 3.0 transfers, RAID configurability and is scheduled to arrive in Q1 for $450. A few more details about each model awaits in the full PR below. Follow all the latest CES 2013 news at our event hub.
HGST develops helium-filled, high-capacity hard drives: no, they won't float away
With certain exceptions, talk of advanced hard drive technology regularly has a tough time escaping research labs. Western Digital's HGST is promising a much more tangible project that could boost data capacities by a wide margin. By filling the gaps between drive platters with less buffeting-prone helium instead of air, HGST can safely fit as many as seven platters in a typical, 3.5-inch desktop hard drive instead of the current five. Going with the lower density gas creates a raft of side benefits, such as fitting more data on a single platter along with reducing the drag that both slows down and heats up the disk. We'll have to wait until 2013 to see shipping helium-filled drives in our PCs; given the slightly exotic nature of the technique, though, we wouldn't count on HGST or Western Digital handing out drives for free like balloons at a birthday party.
HGST launches new CinemaStar drives for media PCs and set top boxes
What's 2.5-inches wide, 7mm tall and silent as a whisper? Well, hopefully it's HGST's new CinemaStar hard drives. We know for certain that these platters of polarized bits will fit in your standard 2.5-inch drive bay, we'll just have to take this Western Digital subsidiary at its word (for now) on the silent bit. Three new families of disks just hit the market, the Z7K500, Z5K500 and budget-friendly C5K1000. The first two options are 7mm high, allowing them to slide nicely into small form factor PCs, DVRs and even laptops. Both top out at 500GB, but the Z7K ekes out better performance by whipping its platters around at 7,200 RPM, while the Z5Ks save energy and noise by ratcheting back to 5,400 RPM. The C5K comes in a slightly bulkier 9.5mm height, but this 5,400 RPM drive does reach the lofty storage size of 1TB. For now the drives are available in limited quantities to OEMs, but hopefully that will change soon enough. Check out the PR after the break for more details.
